Owen
Ogletree was invited over to the UK during the summer of 2010 to help judge "Champion Beer of Britain" at the August Great British Beer Festival
in London. Before the judging experience, Owen was able to sneak
in a side trip to the lovely, historic town of Bath -- about a one hour
train ride west of London. The following photo album
lists most of the cask ale (real ale) pubs I visited in Bath.

Pictured
above is the entire staff of the tiny Abbey Ales brewery in Bath: (L-R)
Alan, Simon and brewer Martin. The most popular cask ale from Abbey is
called Bellringer, and this light, slightly caramel-like ale was in top
form in most of the pubs in town. Bellringer comes across as very mild
with light malty flavors, low ABV and good UK hop bitterness for subtle
balance.

ABBEY ALES BREWERYBath

The
brewery is located directly behind the Old Farmhouse pub (listed
below), and brewer Martin (pictured above) cranks out the range of fine
real ales mostly by himself. Good job Martin!www.abbeyales.co.uk

ASSEMBLY16 Alfred Street

This
is an attractive Abbey Ales pub with 2-3 casks on at one time and one
cider. All casks were in perfect condition and good cool cellar
temperature when I visited.

THE BELL103 Walcot Street

Probably
my favorite pub in Bath, The Bell offers a warm welcome, live jazz on
Monday and Wednesday evenings, a great range of cask ales and lots of
comfortable snugs and tables.

COEUR DE LION17 Northumberland Passage

Cask
ales were a bit too flat and warm in July when I visited this small,
attractive pub. There are only four tables in the central bar area.

OLD FARMHOUSE2 Landsdown Road

Attractive pub in front of the Abbey Ales brewery. Basic pub food, up to four cask ales and live music every Friday.

GARRICK'S HEAD8 St. John's Place

There
has been a pub here for the past 200 years, and the current
establishment is situated next to the Theatre Royal. Around four cask
ales and a couple of ciders are usually on offer.

OLD GREEN TREE12 Green Street

The
dark oak wall panels were installed in the 1920s, so be sure to lean
against them with care. The pub serves a 3.9% ABV house ale that's
golden in color and mildly hoppy. A very relaxing pub.

HOP POLE7 Albion Buildings, Upper Bristol Road

This
pub is owned by the Bath Ales brewery, but the brewery is actually
closer to Bristol. The pub is larger on the inside than it looks from
the outside and can be found by way of a 15 minute walk from the Bath
city center. The Bath ales were a bit too buttery (diacetyl) and served
too warm in July.

KING WILLIAM36 Thomas StreetThis
Palmers gastropub is worth a visit while in Bath. I tried the Dorset
Gold, which was in excellent condition in terms of carbonation and
coolness. The beer was dark gold in color with a pleasing malt/hop
balance. The food here was outstanding as well - with an every changing
daily menu.

NEW INN24 Monmouth PlaceThis
Wadworth pub is situated just a short walk west of the Bath city center
(out near the Hop Pole). Very welcoming and attractive, it features
pleasing food and three Wadworth cask on gravity pour behind the bar. I
tried the pleasant IPA, 6X and Horizon on my visit.

RAVEN6 Queen StreetHaving two floors, The Raven is a moderately spacious pub that was quite crowded on the two occasions I visited. Local CAMRA Pub of the Year
in 2006, this pub is located in the city center. The house beers are
brewed by Blindmans, and the locally made meat pies are amazing (served
with mustard mash and a choice of three types of gravy).

ROYAL OAKLower Bristol Road, Twerton BA2This
no-frills pub just outside Bath serves up a nice range of cask ales,
but 1-2 of the selections were a bit "off" when I visited. I enjoyed
the Art Brew Renaissance ale at 4.5% ABV and the 4.3% Allgates Pacific
Pale Ale with "kiwi" hops. Be sure to check out the bottled Belgian
beers as well.

ROYAL OAKSummerlays Place, BA2This
other Royal Oak in Bath housed six handpumps, but only three were
stocked with real ale when I visited, but each of these beers were
fantastic. The Butcomb Gold Bitter exhibited a grassy, herbal, fruity,
malty character that was quite pleasant. Very much a neighborhood pub.

THE SALAMANDER3 John StreetSmallish,
attractive, new looking Bath Ales pub near the city center. The beers
were too warm in July and all showed a distracting diacetyl
(butterscotch) aroma and flavor. The staff are quite friendly and happy
to provide small beer samples.

STAR23 The VineyardsBellringer
and White Friar golden ale were on cask here along with a rare gravity
cask of Bass. This is a lovely old pub serves as the main Abbey Ales
tap and is run by a Cornish guy named Paul. Celtic bands typically play
on Tuesday nights.

Don't think of visiting the UK without
a guidebook to find the best cask ale pubs.

With detailed descriptions of the very best real ale pubs in England, CAMRA's Good Beer Guide serves as
the premier resource for the serious pub crawler. Search for a copy on www.Amazon.com or the Campaign for Real Ale's online store...